Valentine's Day
by Alice J. Nightshade
Summary: A series of one-shots about soul mates and what they do on the most romantic day of the year. From fighting rouge vampires to being trapped in snow storms, we'll see that no two soul mates Valentine's Day will be the same and that this will not be an ordinary day for anyone, because being in the Night World means that nothing is ever ordinary.
1. The Falls

**Poppy and James **

Poppy awoke to the sound of soft voices echoing off walls and she smiled, with no fangs she was happy to say. She hadn't meant to fall asleep last night but around three o'clock she'd finally given up.

Sitting up, she blinked against the sun's rays through the window. Even know Poppy had been a vampire for a few months the light always bothered her when she woke up, but she couldn't complain that much. She loved the sun.

"Morning, Little Dreamer." The voice belonged to James, her soul mate and her perfect other half. She'd always known she would end up with him, ever since she was five years old. What she didn't know was that he was a vampire and a part of the night world and would save Poppy's life by making her one too. But hey, what are soul mate for?

She moved behind his seat and even though he was driving wrapped her arms around him, feeling him laugh inside her mind and outside and kissed her bare arm.

_ Someone's in a good mood. _

"I am," Poppy was grinning from ear to ear and moved to the passenger seat quickly, so quick a human wouldn't be able to see it. "It's going to be a good day."

James gave her a sideways glance, his gray eyes brimming with adoration. "The power of Poppy-sitive thinking?"

"Mmhmm," Poppy took James' free hand and held it tightly in her own. No matter how many times she would wake up and see him next to her or in front of her as the case would be sometimes, she would never get over how lucky she was.

"Me neither," He agreed and Poppy stuck out her tongue, realizing James' had been reading her mind. "Guess where we are,"

It was a game they liked to play. Whenever one of them would fall asleep, usually Poppy, they would have to guess where they were by their surroundings. Reading license plates was cheating and neither one of them got away with it.

"Let's see," Poppy gazed out her mirror with sharp narrowed eyes, gazing over thick dark evergreen trees and snow topped mountains in the distance. "Where were we last time?"

"North Dakota," He replied her, messing up her coppery curls. Before she changed she always thought they made her look younger and innocent, but as a vampire they made her look wild and fun.

_ Hmmm_, up ahead here was a giant billboard written in a different language with a family on it standing in front of the cottage. Something in her ached as she saw a pair of brother and sister holding hands and smiling towards the camera. She wondered what Phillip was doing right now and her mother too.

"Poppy?" James' tone was concerned but Poppy shook her head. "Are you okay?"

_ No,_ she decided_. I will not be sad today. The power of Poppy-sitive thinking will prevail_. "Canada?"

James nodded, smiling in that crooked way that would make her heart stop if it was beating. "Though I think it's considered cheating because the billboard was in French."

"License plates are out but billboards are free game," She reminded him, happy that she'd gotten it right. She could have just read his mind to find out where they were, but there was no fun in that. "What are you playing?"

James pulled his hand out of Poppy's and pulled a blank CD case from the compartment between them. The front was blank except for a small red heart in the middle and on the back song titles were written in his intricate hand writing.

"Hearts Combined," Poppy read. "Love songs from the Andes, entwined, soul searching." She looked up at surprised. "Did you put titanic on here?"

James nodded ruefully. "To cliché?"

Poppy shrugged. Usually they decided what music they listened to together but James had obviously made this CD for a reason. "I'm sensing a theme here."

"That's because you're one of the best telepaths I know," James said. It still surprised her that she was a lost witch, one who didn't know about their powers and were usually called psychics. "Do you like it?"

"What girl wouldn't love a romantic CD mix tape?" Poppy teased. "I love it, James. But why?"

"Do you know what today is?" James asked her, shielding his mind from hers. He always joked that it was rude to go rummaging through another person's mind without asking, though as soul mate's they could do it all the time. If he was doing this, she realized. He really wanted her to know, and find out on her own.

"Not really, no." They'd been on a long road trip for the past few months after they'd found poppy's father and explained to him what he was, a lost witch. After they had, and he realized Poppy wasn't really dead, her father gave them some idea's where to start on their idea to travel the world together. First they would go through North and South America, and then move onto Europe and so on. Lately she hadn't been keeping her dates matched up, because she was too busy with her daily adventures. She knew that it was February, but not the specific day. "Care to tell me?"  
"That would ruin the surprise," His smile grew as he took a turn into a busy city. The street lights were decorated with red, white and pink twirled streamers and paper hearts seemed to dominate every window. People of all ages were smiling, hugging or handing out candies and hearts. Poppy instantly knew what today was.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jamie." She told him, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek as he made another turn. "And thank you for the music,"

"That's not your gift," James' looked over at her, practically glowing. "It's just to set the mood,"

A series of loud voices echoed throughout the car and she giggled. "The mood has been set,"

He laughed with her and turned down the sound a few notches. "Then my plan is almost in full effect."

Poppy stared out at the beautiful city while they drove. Of all the cities she thought this one would be one of her favorites, because it seemed so big at some times and so small and close knit at others. She liked that it took the best of both qualities and molded it into one city.

Despite herself, Poppy yawned. She was a lot more tired then she thought.

"Why don't you sleep for a few more minutes?" James' suggested. "We've got a long way to go before we get there."

Poppy's silvery green eyes widened curiously. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," as all he said, and Poppy fell asleep.

. . .

Hours later, she felt a hand shaking her but when she opened her eyes it was still dark. She lifted her hand and felt a ribbon over her eyes and smiled wickedly.

"Don't move it," James' commanded, before climbing out of his side and moving to open hers. "It's part of your gift."

"Alright," Poppy laughed, and he took her hand, leading her out of the car. Her sneakered feet landed on gravel and she took a deep breath. She smelled trees, and granite and water.

They walked for a long time, James' holding onto Poppy steady as they made their way to wherever James' was taking her. The sound of rushing water grew louder until it practically frowned everything else out of her ears, so James' talked to her in her head.

_Where almost there, _His thought echoed.

_ I think I know where we are, _Poppy thought back, happily.

"We're here," They stopped on hard concrete and James' removed Poppy's blindfold.

The sun had risen high in the sky and everything basked in its light, including James and Poppy. They stood there for a moment just enjoying the sun's warmth then, Poppy let out a quick excited gasp.

They were at Niagara Falls.

The white water rushed over the edge, filling their ears with sound and blocking everything else out. It was bigger then Poppy had ever imagined and she couldn't stand waiting any more, she just had to get closer. Running towards the railing with James' cool hand clasped in her own, they stopped and the railing and gazed down into the water together.

"It's amazing," Poppy breathed, turning towards her soul mate. "Thank you,"

"I'm sorry you can't take it home," James joked and pulled her closer towards him, wrapping his lean arms around her tiny frame.

"I am home," Poppy whispered and looked up at James' gray eyes, his arms still tanged around her. She wasn't sure who leaned in first, but suddenly they were kissing and every memory she had with James seemed to flood inside her all at once.

_Asking James to be friends when they were only five years old. _

_ Riding bikes together when they were seven and James' helping her up every time she fell. _

_ Sleep overs in the summer when they were eleven. _

_ Listening to music in Poppy's room. _

_ Exchanging blood for the first time hospital bed. _

_ Kissing her on the forehead, her first kiss, when she was comatose. _

_ Waking her up in her casket and taking her in his arms. _

_ James' catching her and rescuing from Ash. _

_James, _She thought, her mind melding with his and becoming one. She remembered how she always wanted to be like this, and they could be any time they wanted_. I love you. _

_ I love you too, Poppy. _James told her. Everything seemed to light up and glow when they touched, it was like being in the sun_. Forever and always. _

_ Always, Poppy promised. Always. _


	2. Jade's Song

**Jade and Mark **

"Mark?" Jade's green eyes widened at the sight of her soul mate standing on her doorstep looking for the first time in a long time, awkward. He was staring down at his feet and his hands were behind his back, looking like a boy who was awaiting a punishment. Her arms tightened around her black cat, which had grown up in the past few months, and he let out a growl. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Mark said quickly, his cheeks dark. "Jade, um. I want you…to come with me….right now."

"Okay?" She let Tiggy down and grabbed Mark's hand from around his back which was damp with sweat but he didn't let go either. "Are you sure?"

Mark nodded, but Jade wasn't convinced. She searched through Mark's mind quickly, but all she got was quick flashes of herself and hearts and it gave her a head ache.

_ Did I do something wrong? _Jade wondered quickly, as they walked away from her home, the Burdock farm. She'd been staying here with her sister's for the last few months and she and Mark saw each other every day. _Maybe it's something about the ball? _

Their high school was planning a ball, _no a dance_ she reminded herself, for a holiday called Valentine's Day. Mark explained that it was a day where you spend time with the person you loved and typically it was a day of exchanging gifts like candies or flowers. When she'd heard about the dance she'd begged Mark to go with her and after a few minutes he ruefully accepted, with the warning that he wasn't a very good dancer.

_Maybe he wants to tell me that he doesn't want to go, _Jade's pale eyebrows pulled together in thought. _It be alright. The dance was in a few hours, so they could do something else. Though why is he acting so strange?_

The two teenagers walked all the way to the Carter home without saying much to each other, too preoccupied with their own thoughts. Mark opened the door for jade and lead her straight to a door that lead down to the basement.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. "Mark?"

"Yeah?" Mark led her down the stairs and his hand never left hers. The basement was a big room with carpeted floors. In the corner was a washing machine and dryer and straight ahead was a trunk and a worn red bean bag chair next to an old looking acoustic guitar.

"Are you mad at me?" Jade's voice was quiet.

Mark turned around so quickly that he nearly crashed into Jade, whose white blonde hair still floated in the air when she stopped so quickly. "No, no of course not…I….I-" He took a deep sigh. "I'm an idiot."

"No you're not!" Jade exclaimed, her eyes bright and silvery. She always got like that when she was excited, or even anxious. "I'm sorry,"

"No, I'm sorry." Mark grabbed both of her hands in his own. "I'm doing this all wrong. Jade, I love you. It's Valentine's Day and I wanted to get you something perfect,"

Jade turned her head curiously. "You…you got me something?"

Mark's smile was embarrassed but genuine. "I _wrote_ you something. Come on."

Mark led her to the bean bag chair at the edge of the room and instructed her to sit. It was almost comical to see little Jade swallowed up by the large chair but he was much too anxious to laugh. He grabbed his guitar and sat down on the trunk with the instrument on his lap and smiled nervously.

"Well…" Mark started. "I….um…."

"You wrote me a song," Jade repeated encouragingly. Mark was never like this with her, but she found it unbelievable adorable that he would get so worked up over a song.

He nodded quickly and slowly strummed the guitar's strings. He hadn't touched it in years, but when he first met Jade he was so inspired he picked it up again. It had take him months, but he finally found the perfect present for her. "Okay…." Then he started to sing.

"Jade, oh Jade," His voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat. "It was love at first sight. Jade, oh Jade. Beautiful angel in the world of the night."

Her face broke out into a huge grin and Mark's finger started to strum faster.

"When danger comes you do not flee

You stand your ground and you'll fight with me.

Brave and strong with a heart of gold,

A wild spirit that can't be controlled.

Without you my life would be gray

Jade, with me you always stay

Jade, oh Jade, It was love at first sight.

Jade, oh Jade. Beautiful angel in the world of the night.

Thistle blonde hair and eyes of green,

This is love so what if we're sixteen?

Brighter than any star

You're with me whether you're near or far.

With you I'll spend all my days

Jade I love you, forever and always.

Jade, oh Jade, It was love at first sight.

Jade, oh Jade, beautiful angel in the world of the night.

Eternity

It's not enough for me.

But I'll spend every moment,

Laughing with you about anything

Talking about what tomorrow will bring,

Kissing you in the dark,

Every touch holds still that same spark.

Running under the moon at night,

Turning the shadows into light.

Holding your hand in mine,

You're my soul mate, my love, my valentine.

"Jade, my Jade," Jade's eyes were tearing up. "It's still love at first sight. Jade, my Jade. My beautiful angel in the world of the night."

He strummed the last string and the noise echoed through the room. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity then Mark took a deep breath. "So….you liked it?"

Jade wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded quickly, unable to speak but finally. "It's beautiful, Mark,"

All the air returned to Mark's lungs and he placed the guitar carefully onto its stand next to him. He'd barley turned when Jade tackled him to the floor and pressed her lips against his. His finger's twined in her light blonde hair and her arms clung around his neck. Never had they kissed like this before, and neither wanted to stop.

Their thoughts tangled together in a mad frenzy of words.

_ I thought it was something bad, _Jade thought frantically, the thought fallowed by a huge wave of silvery white_. You were acting so strange and- _

_ I thought you would have hated it; _Mark's thoughts were frantic too._ I'd never written a song and I thought it be too corny and- _

_ I love you. _They said at the same time.

Finally, they both pulled back and stared at each other, his blue eyes fixated on her green ones and they shared the same excited smile.

"That was…" Mark mused, pushing a strand of her silky hair behind her ear.

"Incredible," Jade whispered back, staring down at him.

They stayed like that for a long time, until Mary-Lynette called down the stairs and told them that they needed to go to the girl's house. Rowan and Jade had convinced their blood sister to go to at least try and have some fun. It took the girls a lot more time to convince Mary-Lynette to go then her brother, but in the end both carter siblings were going. Who knew the Carter's could be so stubborn?

"I've got to go," Jade didn't move a muscle.

"I know," Mark smiled and his arms stayed around her.

"I'll see you soon," Jade promised placing a kiss on Mark's lips before darting up the stairs to get ready for their very first dance.


	3. The Dance

**Mary-Lynette and Ash**

"I don't know why I'm letting you do this," Mary-Lynette mumbled under her breath as Rowan brushed out her long dark hair with an old fashioned silver brush that they'd found in Mrs. Burdock's room.

"It'll be fun," Rowan suggested, squeezing her friend's shoulder reassuringly. "I promise,"

Mary-Lynette wasn't so sure. She'd rather spend her night watching Venus; it was supposed to be really bright tonight, not standing awkwardly around on a dance floor with the rest of her class.

"No," Jade said stubbornly, appearing in the doorway of her sister's room. Her long blonde hair had been pinned back with silvery cobs but still tumbled down her shoulders to her waist. She was wearing a simple strapless dress so blue it was almost white that ended at her knees and flowed around her small frame with a black ribbon tied around her waist. "You're going to have fun tonight, Mary-Lynette. It's your senior year; you _have_ to go to the dances. And you're going to look gorgeous."

Mary-Lynette couldn't stop the smile that spread on her lips. She had to admit that it could be a little fun, at least hanging out with her blood sisters. Even Rowan was allowed to come to the dance, though she was sure that the no using their vampire powers rule went out the window to come. She looked over at her friend who wore a long silvery dress with narrow straps that tied around her neck and a heart shaped neckline. It was tight around to her waist then gathered low at her thigh before pooling around her ankles. Rowan looked like she was in a sparkling waterfall. Her own chestnut hair had been brushed and piled in elegant ringlets around her heart shaped face.

"You look beautiful," Mary-Lynette told her with a smile and she swore Rowan looked a little embarrassed. She couldn't wait to see hoe the boys at the dance would react to her.

"She's not dressed yet?" Kestrel appeared as silently as Jade had and Mary-Lynette's dark blue eyes widened. She'd thought Kestrel of all people would have agreed not to go to the dance, but she'd opted to go along with her sister. She wore gold floor length dress with narrow gold straps and a slit up the right leg to above her knee revealing a bare pale leg. Her gold hair had been brushed but she let her golden hair fall freely around her shoulders.

"I'm almost done with her hair," Rowan pointed out, sticking a dark violet in her friend's long dark curls. "I'll be done in a second."

"Okay," Jade grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her away from the door. "Come on, Kestrel. I've got something to show you."

Mary-Lynette watched them go. "They're both excited,"

"It's their first real dance," Rowan explained, finishing with her friend's hair and smiling. "Or at least a human one. The only dance's we knew were on the island with gentleman who our parent's choice for us to dance with and corsets."

The human girl shook her head. In the few month's that she'd known the Redfern's they hadn't told her much about their lives on the island, but she knew that it wasn't pleasant. She was glad that Rowan and her sisters had the chance to have some fun now though.

"Mary-Lynette?" She blinked and saw that Rowan was standing before her with a silver framed mirror in her slim hands. "Look,"

The girl who stared back at Mary-Lynette was just as beautiful as Rowan, just as fierce as Kestrel and glowed just as much as Jade did. Dark curls framed her light face which had grown paler since her summer tan had faded framed by long dark curls twined with dark blossoms. Rowan had given her a little bit of blush which made her cheekbones stand out and the mascara made her dark eyes look bluer.

_ I'm beautiful, _Mary-Lynette thought distantly.

"You are," Rowan agreed, handing Mary-Lynette the mirror and moved to her closet where she pulled out a dress. It was long, dark and undoubtedly more beautiful than any star Mary-Lynette had ever seen. With silky straps that were held over her arms and had a heart shaped top that revealed more skin that Mary-Lynette usually allowed. It was dark blue and had black lace around the bodice and thin straps with a wide full skirt that reached the floor.

"It was our aunt's," Rowan explained, laying the dress down on her bed. The room had begun to look more like a bedroom since Rowan had been staying here. There were books room the small shelve on one wall and the entire room smelled like lavender like its owner.

"It's beautiful," Mary-Lynette mused, standing up from the chair she'd been staying in for over an hour. She stood next to her friend and laid a hand over the dark skirts. "Are you sure?"

Her friend nodded. "She would have wanted it."

Mary-Lynette knew that she probably would have.

. . .

The dance was more fun than Mary-Lynette gave it credit for.

The gymnasium had been transformed into a French moonlit night. There was a fake Eiffel Tower in one corner and twinkling lights were strung up all around ceiling and walls of the room.

Mark and Jade danced in the middle of a crowd, Jade's small body spinning around and jumping while Mark followed half a step behind everyone else but neither one of them seemed to notice anything but each other. Rowan and Kestrel were there to, like the sun and the moon in their different color dresses with a series of onlookers, mostly boys, following their movements.

Mary-Lynette had lost track of her friends from her vantage point by the entrance, though she was attracting a lot of attention herself. The floor-length dress was beautiful and surreal, attracting curious glances from her female class mates and flat out staring from the boys. Still, she didn't dance that much, until a familiar looking blonde girl appeared at her side.

"Come on, Mary-Lynette." Bunny Martian's curls were sticking to her forehead with sweat but she was smiling. Her dress had short sleeves and flowered around her knees like Jade's but was look at me, Red. "Let's dance,"

Mary-Lynette flushed, nearly as dark as her friend's dress. "Sorry, Bun. But I-"

Bunny grabbed Mary-Lynette's hand without another word and dragged her friend to the middle of the dance floor where Bunny spun her friend around in dizzying circles until Mary-Lynette was smiling and laughing too.

"Mary-Lynette!" She couldn't tell whether the voice was in her head or not but Rowan and Kestrel appeared next to her with smiles on their faces, Roan's happy and Kestrel's fierce. Bunny nodded towards them and spun again.

Mary-Lynette leaned towards Rowan's ear. "Are you having fun?"

Rowan nodded and her brown eyes widened slightly. Before Mary-Lynette could turn around to see what her friend was staring at Rowan grabbed her hands and spun her around. Suddenly, Mary-Lynette was alone and she tripped, landing into a pair of strong arms that gripped her tightly.

"I-" She looked up slightly and froze, seeing that they eyes gazing down at her were violet and warm the changed instantly to gold.

_Ash._

Warmth flooded Mary-Lynette's veins as Ash pulled her closer, his hands running over her bare back that sent shivers up her spine. This was _Ash._ Beautiful, wonderful, stubborn as hell, Ash.

"Mary-Lynette," Ash whispered, running a soft hand against her cheek and marveling down at her. "It's-"

His words were cut off as Mary-Lynette pushed her lips against his and pulled him tightly towards her body.

_ I missed you. _

The thought belonged to both of them, not just her's or Ash's because there was no separation between them, because they were one. And the next thought they had was shared too.

_I love you. _

Mary-Lynette sighed happily as the kiss ended and Ash pushed a delicate black curl behind her ear with a smile. She knew that he'd waited for this moment for weeks. That all the Redfern siblings had planned for this to happen without telling either of the Carter children. She looked over at her shoulder and saw them all smiling at her. Jade and Mark holding hands, Kestrel shaking her head and laughing and rowan nodding encouragingly.

The music turned softer and couple's around them grabbed onto each other, but Mary-Lynette and ash didn't move, they just stared at one another between the moving crowd.

"Mary-Lynette?" Ash asked softly.

His soulmate nodded. "Yes?"

"Can I have this dance?"


End file.
